Chicago's Greatest Ever Heavyweight: Ernie Terrell, Andrew Golota, or Someone Else?

For me, it's down between Ernie Terrell and Andrew Golota. Both heavyweights have been inducted into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame.

Terrell won the WBA title in 1965, holding the crown for 2 years before losing it to "The Greatest", Muhammad Ali. Terrell hit his prime in the 1960s – just shy of the greatest era in heavyweight boxing (1970s). His biggest victories are those over Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, and George Chuvalo. Terrell's final ring ledger reads 46-9-0, 21 KO.

Golota is an Olympic Bronze Medalist who four times challenged for a heavyweight world title. Golota's proudest moment and greatest achievement in boxing came in 2004 when he fought then-IBF champion Chris Byrd to a draw at "The Mecca of Boxing'', Madison Square Garden. Andrew's biggest wins are those over Danell Nicholson, Tim Witherspoon, and Orlin Norris. The Pole wound up with a 41-9-1, 33 KO record in the paid ranks before hanging up his gloves.

The verdict: Golota. Yes, Ernie is the one who was crowned world heavyweight champion, but Andrew fought in a tougher era of heavyweights. Remember, Andrew hit his prime in the midst of the second greatest era in heavyweight history (1990s) when future Hall of Famers Lewis, Bowe, Tyson, and Holyfield were at the top (Golota shared the ring with everyone except Holyfield). In the midst of this extraordinary era, Bowe and Golota engaged in two memorable wars, the second of which is considered one of the greatest heavyweight fights of the aforementioned decade. Sure, Terrell stepped into the ring with "The Greatest" himself, but look at how badly he was beaten by Ali. Perhaps Terrell has more big wins in the professional ranks, but Golota is a decorated amateur, and that gives him a slightly more solid overall pedigree for an Olympic Medal stands alone in a boxing career.

Please share your views. Cheers!

 

I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read and comment on my post and I respect that you feel Terrell merits more than Golota. We have a difference in opinion and that is what's so great about boxing – if we all shared the same views then it would be quite boring, frankly.

The truth is Golota should have never fought Lewis at the time he did. The Pole had an injured knee. That alone should have been enough for the bout to be postponed or cancelled entirely. Prior to the bout, Golota had been injected with a powerful painkiller (lidocaine) for his knee pain. This made him light-headed and dizzy. Adverse side effects of lidocaine include blurred vision, dizziness, and seizures. In his dressing room shortly after the fight ended, Andrew suffered a seizure and had to be rushed to the hospital. This injury is the only reason the Brit was able to get the Pole out of there inside one round.

A similar case pops up versus "Iron Mike", which by the way, was not a KO loss for Golota (the match ended in a No Contest because Mike broke the rules (by smoking), not Andrew). When Golota said "No Mas" before round three, he felt there was something seriously wrong with his health, and he was right. Following the bout, a neurosurgeon confirmed Andrew was injured: a concussion, a fractured left cheekbone, as well as a herniated disc (between the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae). It was actually Tyson who broke the rules by headbutting Golota, hence the concussion Golota suffered. A fighter's health takes priority over continuing a boxing match. Here's some famous fighters who also quit in boxing matches: Roberto Duran, Oliver McCall, Vitali Klitschko, Julio Cesar Chavez, Michael Gomez, Victor Ortiz, and Daniel Geale.

Thus, against both Lewis and Tyson, the Pole was plagued by injuries. Very unfortunate for Andrew because in probably the two biggest fights of his life injuries kept him from showing whether he was capable of greatness.

In terms of Riddick Bowe, many people (you're not the only one) say the two Bowe battles were a case of Riddick being shot rather than Andrew being that good. I disagree. Given Golota's amateur background (coming from a strong Eastern European amateur tradition), he clearly took his training seriously as opposed to Bowe. If "Big Daddy" was indeed physically finished by only age 28, that was only his fault as he would fail to carefully watch his diet and training between fights. It's a very poor excuse to say a 28-year-old heavyweight was shot or faded. Most heavyweights reach their prime around this age. If anything, Bowe was shot only after Golota was done with him after their rematch, not before their first meeting on July 11, 1996.

As far as giving Ernie Golota's competition, those kinds of comparisons/prime-for-prime mythical match-ups are merely a case of "what if"? We'll never know the answer to that question because we're talking about guys from two totally different eras. The answer is just as much yes as it is no because you can make a case for both scenarios (except in the most obvious cases, such as "Muhammad Ali vs. Yuri Vaulin prime-for-prime, who wins?" Lol).

 

Good observation. While his amateur background is not weak, it is not on an international level like Golota's. Yes, "The Atomic Bull" was the first man to stop Lennox Lewis, but in the rematch, McCall made a mockery of himself. IMO that looks worse than an early KO loss.

 

Not a single world title bout on his resume.